Ben Stiller is Larry Daley... and LAAALevy notes that much of the film series' heart comes from Ben Stiller. "Ben is
not only a phenomenally devoted craftsman and artist, who is always looking for
the best possible everything, but he has such a grounded naturalism in his
acting style. Ben has given these movies a strong sense of tone and identity."

Levy and Stiller certainly didn't make things easy for themselves with the new
film. Stiller not only reprises his role of Larry Daley, he also stars opposite
himself in the new role of Laaa, Larry's Neanderthal doppelganger. "There's an
innocence to Laaa," says Stiller. "He is like a little kid who just wants
Larry's attention and love, but then he also has this very visceral caveman
thing going on."

Levy notes that "Ben committed to the character with such a level of devotion,
in the same way that he does on so many characters that are so memorable,
whether it's in Zoolander, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Starsky and Hutch
or Tropic Thunder. He has this ability to fully inhabit a character, where he
just builds something apart from himself and wears it like another set of
clothing. And that's what Laaa is."

Stiller recalls, "When the idea for Laaa came up, it made me laugh because I
thought it could be a fun element -- and I've always enjoyed cavemen and
Neanderthals and that whole evolutionary process," he quips. "When Shawn pitched
the idea I thought this could be really funny, and I asked, "So...who are you
going to get to play Laaa?'"